2008 Audi R8

April 17, 2008

Transcript

>> They are nice cars, they are luxury cars, and they are crazy luxury cars. You know the ones, the really high-trim S class, a nicely outfitted Lexus LS. This guy, an Audi A8 long wheelbase W12. Let's check the tech and check all the other how it lives.
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>> To be warned, this car starts at 120 grand without any options so you can assume most everything is in here and most everything is. Here is the rather familiar Audi LCD screen interface, part of their MMI technology which is this controller and that screen. You see, it actually hides down in the dash if you find that consumer electronics look today class A for a particular drive. But when it's up, I'm reminded that MMI is getting long in the tooth. And when you actually get into the menu layout, it's just kind of weird. It's this idea of four corners and then a central display. Come on Audi, it's time for a complete house cleaning on this system. Then also a part of that MMI interface is the audio system. Then on this car, it's AM/FM serious satellite radio is included. There is a multimedia connector which will get your iPod hooked up as well as other portables. The basic audio system that comes with the car is a very nice premium Bose Rig 12 speakers and gajillion watts of power, but if you want more gajillion watts and more speakers, you pony up over $6000 for the Bang and Olufsen rig and the best part is you get this, the pop up dispersion tweeters up there on the dashboard. The problem is, I don't find that it sounds $6000 better on serious which is compressed or local FM which is noisy. I'll walk away from the B&O CDs. It does bring out a whole lot more life and warmth but you got to feed a good food to get good stuff out of it. Your back seat folks, get rear seat entertainment, of course, the way it should be done, two screens in the headrests. The problem is, if they want to change movies, you got to pull over. The DVD drive for the rear is way in the rear, in the trunk. By the way, do you notice in the back between the seats, lift a little door there. It finds your elbow and yes, there is the refrigerator with the chilled glasses. There is even a separate manual for it. That's luxury. This is a very well-trimmed out vehicle. And when they add a few inches to rear wheelbase, you really feel. It doesn't just make a small difference. It makes a big difference when you stretch a floor pan for the back seat passenger. And look at the luxury back there, that's absolutely amazing. Now, our car has a W12 engine. It's kind of an odd bird to say the least. The way VW does a W12 is to have what looks like a common V-angle engine. But then on each side of the V, they double up the row of cylinders. What it allows them to do is get a V-angle 12-cylinder that isn't forever long. It's a short engine front to back because they nested in there, left to right. We've got 450 horsepower here, 420 foot pounds, and it's just silky. It goes out through a six-speed tiptronic automatic. You've got very discreet paddles here on the wheel plus you've also got your shiftable gate here and drop it back for a sport mode if you want it to shift itself but more aggressively. The acceleration is plentiful and almost eerily smooth and silent. The downside, of course, is fuel economy. You are looking at 13 CD, 19 high way combined is a crappy 15. This is a unique blend of some sporting, some understanding of engineering, and a real strong taste for luxury. I just wish they could update the tech and then thumbs up. Okay, if you promise not to faint, we can price our A8 L W12 base 120 grand. Good grief. On top of that, you can add 6300 bucks for the B&O audio system, or follow my instinct and don't. You've got to get the fridge, 1500 bucks. And for a sunroof, it's also a solar panel and little fans that extract heat from the car when it's parked, 800 more.
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